It should come as no surprise that our struggling economy is a focal point for everyone. Almost all of my clients have expressed in one way or another how challenging their online business has become from many standpoints, specifically in terms of ROI. In an effort to combat these difficult times, advertising budgets are being stretched thin and cutbacks are occurring.
 
At the same time, much to our delight, Search Engine Marketing (SEM) continues to be one of the most cost effective and quickest ways for online retailers to get their message across. In fact, many clients have told me they have had to decrease (in some cases cease completely) their television, radio and print efforts, due to the increasingly high cost to advertise on these platforms. 
 
That being said, every click counts to retailers, while consumers want to get as much as they can for their hard earned money. I personally feel that when an incentive is offered, the result is two-fold. It shows compassion for consumers who are battling through this tough economic climate. It also makes prospective shoppers feel they are getting a bigger and better value and will be more apt to take out their credit card. So what are the best incentives to get prospective shoppers and qualified leads to your website? Here are just a few tips…

1. Offer free shipping whenever possible. If free shipping is not an option, perhaps offer a shipping upgrade at no additional cost.
2. Provide a free gift with purchase. This can be something small and relatively inexpensive. This is also a great branding opportunity for you. Examples: shirts, pens, notepads, etc. with your company name printed.
3. Offer a discount; even 5 or 10%, as every little bit helps.
4. Extend a customer loyalty discount for repeat customers, or a coupon code that provides a discount on a future purchases.
5. Be sure to have competitive pricing. Online shoppers are smart and they will search around now more than ever before for the best deal. If your pricing is favorable, you will more than likely get the sale. If possible, offer a low price guarantee.
6. Provide free samples with orders; shoppers love samples!
7. Extend a free trial of your service.
8. Give a free whitepaper and/or newsletter when searchers register on your site. This is a great way to build your database and remarket in the future.

I recommend testing any of the above tips and then track your progress to see which incentives work best for you and your business. Good luck!

I am asked very often by my clients, ‘What is going to make me stand out from my competition?’  Advertisers have been asking themselves this question for years, and the answer still remains the same; ‘what is your offer?’  A captivating offer in a search engine marketing campaign is not only key for obtaining potential customers, but also can make the difference in whether a customer will consider going with your company, versus your competition.

When deciding which offer to use, remember that there needs to be significant perceived value for the customer; put yourself in the mindset of your customer.  For example, if you are a plumber, an enticing offer for your customer may be $49 to unclog any drain.  Not only is this offer easy for the customer to remember, but it makes the plumber stand out from his competition; the perceived value of this offer makes a potential customer want to find out more.  An example of a poor offer might be for a car dealer who is offering ‘a free air freshener with the purchase of a new car.’  The incentive for the customer to click on the ad is non-existent.  If the customer is purchasing a $30,000 car, they would expect to get more than a $2 air freshener.

Try testing several different offers over the course of your search engine marketing campaign; not every offer will perform the same.  Not only are you able to differentiate what offers work best for specific products, but you also have the opportunity to update your ad copy on a regular basis.  Don’t simply test an offer for a few days; allow a significant amount of time to pass for you to gather information regarding the performance of specific offers.

Remember, you won’t know what offer works best, until you test.

When looking at your search engine marketing campaign, are there too many keywords in your ad groups?  Recently, I have conducted several SEM audits for clients who run their own in-house pay per click efforts.  I was asked to provide suggestions on what could be done to improve the performance of their current campaigns.   

Quite often, the main factor which causes poor performance is the amount of keywords placed within an ad group.  Having too many keywords in an ad group can have many repercussions.  If the keywords do not have a common theme and are placed within the same ad group, it may start to affect the quality score for the campaign as a whole.  It can also make the campaign difficult to manage.

When creating a search engine marketing campaign, it is best to concentrate on smaller ad groups.  While ad groups consist of tightly themed keywords, try breaking the keywords out into more specific ad groups.  For example, an advertiser selling pet products may develop an ad group for leashes; which may contain many various types of leashes.  It is suggested to take that group and divide the keywords into even more tightly categorized keywords such as dog leashes, puppy leashes, retractable leashes and so on. 

Another suggestion is to create separate campaigns when choosing to participate in the content network.  By simply opting into the content network you are unable to control which part of the budget will be spent on searches and which part will be distributed to the content network.  When ad groups are of a substantial size, the budget can be used up quite quickly.  To avoid this problem and manage your budgets effectively, keep the search and content campaigns apart from each other.

It may only take one or two bad keywords to completely drag down the quality score of the entire campaign.  Try grouping your keywords in small, tightly themed ad groups to get the most of out your search engine marketing campaign.